<p>Modern structural materials utilize tailored microstructures to retain peak performance within the most volatile operating conditions. Features such as grain size, grain boundary (GB) character and morphology and secondary phases are just a few of the tunable parameters. By tailoring these types of microstructural features, the deformation behavior of the material is also altered. The localization of plastic strain directly correlated to material failure. Thus, a systematic approach was utilized to understand the effect of microstructural features on the localization of plastic deformation utilizing digital image correlation (DIC). First, at the macroscopic scale, strain accumulation is known to form parallel to the plane of maximum shear stress. The local deviations in the deformation pathways at the meso-scale are investigated relative to the plane of maximum shear stress. The deviations in the deformation pathways are observed to be a function of the accumulated local plastic strain magnitude and the grain size. Next, strains characterized via DIC were used to calculate a value of incremental slip on the active slip systems and identify cases of slip transmission. The incremental slip was calculated based on a Taylor-Bishop-Hill algorithm, which determined a qualitative assessment of deformation on a given slip system, by satisfying compatibility and identifying the stress state by the principle of virtual work. Inter-connected slip bands, between neighboring grains, were shown to accumulate more incremental slip (and associated strain) relative to slip bands confined to a single grain, where slip transmission did not occur. These results rationalize the role of grain clusters which lead to intense strain accumulation and thus serve as potential sites for fatigue crack initiation. Lastly, at GB interfaces, the effect of GB morphology (planar or serrated) on the cavitation behavior was studied during elevated temperature dwell-fatigue at 700 °C. The resulting γ′ precipitate structures were characterized near GBs and within grains. Along serrated GBs coarsened and elongated <a>γ′ </a>precipitates formed and consequently created adjacent regions that were denuded of γ′ precipitates. Dwell-fatigue experiments were performed at low and high stress amplitudes which varied the amount of imparted strain on the specimens.<a> Additionally, the regions denuded of the γ′ precipitates were observed to localize strain and to be initial sites of cavitation.</a> <a>These results present a quantitative strain analysis between two GB morphologies, which provided the micromechanical rationale for the increased proclivity for serrated GBs to form cavities.</a></p>

This thesis focuses on the comparison of numerical simulation and optical measurement of deformation of the turbinehousing made by Honeywell company. The numerical calculation performed by finite element method to simulate transient thermal load on the measured entity. Numerical result of the strain state of the body caused by temperature gradients. To verify the simulation is used an experimental digital correlation method VIC-3D. The thesis also mentioned the theoretical foundations of digital correlation methods and thermal analysis.

I Sverige finns en lång tradition att byggande med materialet trä men det är främst av småhus som byggts. Flerbostadshusmarknaden har länge dominerats av materialen betong och stål men med dagens syn på hållbart byggande har byggnationen av trä blivit allt mer eftertraktat. Men det finns fortfarande en del utmaningar med att bygga höga hus i trä. Med ökade antal våningar så ökar lasterna och ett problem vid byggande av höga hus med träregelstomme är stämpeltrycket på syllen. Vid för hög belastning på syllen deformeras denna vilket kan inverka på stommens stabilitet och bärförmåga. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka om en syll av korslimmat trä kan förbättra förutsättningarna för att bygga höghus med träregelstomme. I arbetet jämförs stämpeltrycket för två olika varianter av syllar med KL-trä samt med en traditionell syll. Dimensionen på syllarna är 120 x 45 mm och virkesklass C24. Idén är att utnyttja KL-träets korsande fiberriktningar för att uppnå en högre tryckhållfasthet. Vid genomförda experimentella försök mäts tryckkraft, förskjutning och töjningar av syllarna som belastades av en hydraulisk press och analyserade med hjälp av ett beröringsfritt mätsystem. Tre olika beräkningsmodeller för syll av KL-trä är framtagna och jämförs med resultatet från experimentet. Resultatet visar på att en syll av KL-trä har en betydligt högre tryckhållfasthet än en traditionell syll. Detta ger goda förutsättningar för att bygga höga hus med träregelstomme. / In Sweden, there is a long tradition of building timber structures mainly for the small-house market. The multi-dwelling housing market has for long been dominated by building materials such as concrete and steel, but with today's preferences of sustainable construction materials, wood has become increasingly sought after. But there are still some challenges in building tall houses in wood. With increased number of floors, the loads increase and a problem when building high-rise buildings with wooden stud and rails system is the compression perpendicular to the grain in the bottom rail. When the bottom rail is loaded deformation occurs, which can affect the stability and bearing capacity of the structure. The aim with this bachelor thesis is to investigate whether a cross-laminated timber rail can improve the preconditions for building tall buildings with by use of timber frame. Compression perpendicular to two different CLT rails will be compared to a traditional one. The dimensions of the bottom rails are 120 x 45 mm and strength class C24. The idea is to utilize the CLT intersecting fiber directions to achieve a higher compressive strength. In the experiment, compressive force, displacement and elongation of the bottom rails are measured by means of a hydraulic press and a contact-free camera based measuring system. Three different calculation models for the CLT sills have been developed and compared with the results of the experiment. The result shows that a CLT rail has two to three times higher compressive strength compared to a traditional rail. This suggests a solution to the challenge with high compressive stresses in the rail.

The diploma thesis deals with using of reinforcing composite materials in asphalt layers. These geosynthetic materials are in road construction used especially to reduce spreading cracks and extend the service life of the construction. As par of this work, test specimens of different types of asphalt layers were produced. These samples were subjected to laboratory testing, where the results of different reinforced asphalt slabs were compared. Within the diploma thesis primarily deals with the testing of the shear bond strength between asphalt layers in order to determine what are the other influencing factors of the test. Another part of the thesis is the 4-point bending test, during which a special technology in the form of a DIC camera was used to monitor the behavior of the asphalt layer over time.

The ability to quickly develop predictions of the time-to-failure under different loading levels allows designers to choose the best polymeric material for a specific application. Additionally, it helps material producers to design, manufacture, test, and modify a polymeric material more rapidly. In the case of polymeric pipes, previous studies have shown that there are two possible time-dependent failure mechanisms corresponding to ductile and brittle failure. The ductile mechanism is evident at shorter times-to-failure and results from the stretching of the amorphous region under loading and the subsequent plastic deformation. Empirical results show that many high-performance polyethylene (PE) materials do not exhibit the brittle failure mechanism. Hence, it is critical to understand the ductile mechanism and find an approach to predict the corresponding times-to-failure using accelerated means. The aim of this study is to develop an innovative rupture lifetime acceleration protocol for PE pipes which is sensitive to the structure, orientation, and morphology changes introduced by changing processing conditions. To accomplish this task, custom fixtures are developed to admit tensile and hoop burst tests on PE pipes. A pressure modified Eyring flow equation is used to predict the rupture lifetime of PE pipes using the measured mechanical properties under axial tensile and hydrostatic pressure loading in different temperatures and strain rates. In total, the experimental method takes approximately one week to be completed and allows the prediction of pipe lifetimes for service lifetime in excess of 50 years. / Master of Science / Steel, cast and galvanized iron, and asbestos cement (AC) pipelines have been historically used in water management services. However, they often experienced deterioration because of corrosion and encrustation, resulting in 23 to 27 bursts per 100 miles of pipeline in the US per year. Therefore, plastic pipes were developed to carry liquids (water and sewage), gases, etc. The Plastic Pipe Institute (PPI) requires a service life of at least 50-years for plastic pipes. Hence, pipe producers and material suppliers continuously attempt to improve the materials and manufacturing processes used for plastic pipes to increase their service lifetimes. However, there is still no plastic pipe that has been in service for 50 years. Therefore, a few techniques have been developed to accelerate the aging process and to predict if the plastic pipe is able to endure the 50-year lifetime without failure. In this work, a combined experimental and analytical framework is presented to develop accelerated lifetime estimates for plastic pipes. Custom axial tensile and internal pressurization fixtures are developed to measure the pipe response; the analytical method is used to extend the results to predict 50-year (and beyond) behavior.

No description available.

Fatique life extension of nuclear powerplants lies in the search for project reserves. This work deals with the evaluation of low-cycle fatigue of nuclear installations of the VVER type and the assessment of the influence of the computational model level. Fatigue tests of austenitic steel using optical method of digital image correlation for which the evaluation procedure is designed and used is performed. Selected model of plasticity with kimenatic (Chaboche) and combinated hardening (Chaboche, Voce) are calibrated from the obtained data. Subsequently, the durability of the test specimen is determined by computational modeling for different material models. From the comparison of the results of fatigue tests with the calculation, the material models suitable for the description of fatigue life and their validity are determined.

Increasing awareness of sustainable building materials has led to interest in enhancing the structural performance of engineered wood products. Wood is a sustainable, renewable material, and the increasing use of wood in construction contributes to its sustainability. Multi-layer wooden panels are one type of engineered wood product used in construction. There are various techniques to assemble multi-layer wooden panels into prefabricated, load-bearing construction elements. Assembly techniques considered in the earliest stages of this research work were laminating, nailing, stapling, screwing, stress laminating, doweling, dovetailing, and wood welding. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) was found to offer some advantages over these other techniques. It is cost-effective, not patented, offers freedom of choice regarding the visibility of surfaces, provides the possibility of using different timber quality in the same panel at different points of its thickness, and is the most well-established assembly technique currently used in the industrial market. Building upon that foundational work, the operational capabilities of CLT were further evaluated by creating panels with different layer orientations. The mechanical properties of CLT panels constructed with layers angled in an alternative configuration produced on a modified industrial CLT production line were evaluated. Timber lamellae were adhesively bonded in a single-step press procedure to form CLT panels. Transverse layers were laid at a 45° angle instead of the conventional 90° angle with respect to the longitudinal layers’ 0° angle. Tests were carried out on 40 five-layered CLT panels, each with either a ±45° or a 90° configuration. Half of these panels were evaluated under bending: out-of-plane loading was applied in the principal orientation of the panels via four-point bending. The other twenty were evaluated under compression: an in-plane uniaxial compressive loading was applied in the principal orientation of the panels. Quasi-static loading conditions were used for both in- and out-of-plane testing to determine the extent to which the load-bearing capacity of such panels could be enhanced under the current load case. Modified CLT showed higher stiffness, strength, and fifth-percentile characteristics, values that indicate the load-bearing capacity of these panels as a construction material. Failure modes under in- and out-of-plane loading for each panel type were also assessed. Data from out-of-plane loading were further analysed. A non-contact full-field measurement and analysis technique based on digital image correlation (DIC) was utilised for analysis at global and local scales. DIC evaluation of 100 CLT layers showed that a considerable part of the stiffness of conventional CLT is reduced by the shear resistance of its transverse layers. The presence of heterogeneous features, such as knots, has the desirable effect of reducing the propagation of shear fraction along the layers. These results call into question the current grading criteria in the CLT standard. It is suggested that the lower timber grading limit be adjusted for increased value-yield. The overall experimental results suggest the use of CLT panels with a ±45°-layered configuration for construction. They also motivate the use of alternatively angled layered panels for more construction design freedom, especially in areas that demand shear resistance. In addition, the design possibility that such 45°-configured CLT can carry a given load while using less material than conventional CLT suggests the potential to use such panels in a wider range of structural applications. The results of test production revealed that 45°-configured CLT can be industrially produced without using more material than is required for construction of conventional 90°-configured panels. Based on these results, CLT should be further explored as a suitable product for use in more wooden-panel construction. / <p>External cooperation: Martinson Group AB and Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE)</p>

No description available.

It was found that a significant improvement of mechanical properties of CFRPs can be achieved by the adjustment of the matrix properties such as toughness and CF/matrix adhesion via the chemical modification, as well as the physical modification by a small amount of cheap and environment-friendly nano fibers. Based on investigation of fracture mechanisms at macro/micro scale, the effects of matrix properties and nano fiber on the mechanical properties of CFRP have been discussed. Subsequently, the relationship has been characterized by a numerical model to show how to modulate the parameters of the matrix properties to achieve excellent fatigue properties of CFRP. / 博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University